


Nowhere to Run

by GleefullyCaptainSwan



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Police, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:00:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29843256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GleefullyCaptainSwan/pseuds/GleefullyCaptainSwan
Summary: Detective Killian Jones has been hunting fugitive Neal Cassidy for over twelve years, wanted for murder and armed robbery, he’s become a ghost and the one cold case that keeps him up at night. When a new lead surfaces, he never expected it to link back to Emma Swan, his former partner and ex-wife who disappeared ten years ago.Modern AU with mature themes. Trigger warning for Murder, Violence, References to rape
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 29
Kudos: 39





	1. You Will Always Have My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I need to add multiple warnings to this fic.  
> 1) If you like Neal or don't like reading stories where he is a total ass, this one is not for you. DO NOT READ.  
> 2) There will be discussion and brief narrative of rape  
> 3) This fic is my way of getting out my angst of sadness and anger. There will be nice scenes later on (especially if you like Captain Cobra)  
> 4) Emma is gonna have a rough time in this fic.

**Chapter 1: You Will Always Have My Heart**

_Ten years ago_

Killian Jones stood in front of the courthouse, an hour early for his hearing. It wasn’t unusual for him to be at the courthouse to give testimony for the various collars he had brought down. Usually he would arrive on time, answer a few questions about the arrest, and head back out to complete his shift. But today he wasn’t here on official business.

Killian checked his watch, looking around for his lawyer. He was supposed to meet her before the hearing. Ariel was a family friend who was doing him a favor by representing him. He had tried to understand all the paperwork, this should have been a simple open and shut case. She told him he would be in and out in about thirty minutes so long as everything was agreed upon by both parties.

“Killian.” He turned to see her walking up the stairs toward him.

“Ariel, thank you for coming.”

She frowned, “I wish it was on better terms.”

“Yeah.” He said, scratching his ear with the tip of his finger. “I just want to get it over with and move on.”

“And you’re sure this is what you both want?”

“The only thing we can both agree on is that we’re tired of yelling at each other. If I could see a different future, believe me, I’d try. But we are at an impasse.”

“I’m sorry Killian, I know how much you loved her.”

“Perhaps love isn’t enough.” He said sadly.

“Well, this should go quickly, as long as she signs the papers we sent over, that’s all we need. Shall we go in?”

Walking into the courthouse, he emptied his pockets, flashing his badge as he unsheathed his gun from his hip and turned it over to the security officer. “Testifying today, Detective?”

“Not today, Arlene.” She handed him his check slip to retrieve his gun when he was finished, and Ariel led him toward an office on the first floor.

“So, once she gets here, let me do all the talking. I’ve been in contact with her attorney already, so I don’t want you to interact with her.”

“I’m not even allowed to talk to my wife now?”

“Killian, we know what happened the last time the two of you were here. That’s why you had to hire me if you remember?”

Killian groaned, remembering the fight that broke out in court, in front of a judge, as they met to go over the details of the divorce papers. By the fourth slam of the gavel reverberating in the room, they were being assigned to mediation, and their Captain assigned them both to anger management courses.

“Fine, no talking.”

Killian sat nervously waiting, his knee bouncing under the table. He had no idea how they had gotten to this place; they had been so happy just a year earlier. When he saw her walk down the aisle, it had stopped his heart. He had never seen her look so beautiful.

The door opened and he looked up as a man carrying a briefcase entered the room, “Ah, Mr. Jones.” The man greeted him, and he saw her wander quietly into the room. She looked at everything, except for him. She took her seat across from him, folding her hands on the table, eyes focused on a scratch that had been marred into the wood of the table in front of them.

“Alright, here is the paperwork, I just need your client to sign here if everything is finally agreed to.”

“Actually…” the man started, and Killian’s eyes jerked toward him. “There is the matter of the dog.”

Killian groaned snapping his eyes to her, “Are you kidding me, you want Rogers?”

“Killian…” Ariel warned him.

“She’s not the one who takes him out at 3am every bloody night. She doesn’t care about the damn dog.”

“I love that dog.” She said angrily across from him. “I’m the one who picked him in case you don’t remember.”

“You can’t have him.” He shouted, crossing his hands against his chest. “I’ll give you the car. Just let me have Rogers.”

The man looked over at his client and she sighed loudly. “Fine.”

“And there is the matter of the apartment. It’s in my client’s name, yet you have Mr. Jones continuing to reside in it after the divorce.”

“You told me you didn’t want the damn place.”

Ariel cleared her throat loudly, “Is your client changing her mind?”

The lawyer looked at her, “No, but there will be the matter of changing over the deed.”

“That’s fine, so if everything else is acceptable, I can have these papers re-written tonight and sent over first thing in the morning for your client to sign and then we can finally be done with all of this.” Ariel gathered the documents, putting them into her briefcase. She nudged Killian and stood.

“Thank you.” She nodded toward the lawyer and his soon to be ex-wife. He stood from the table, looking over at the woman who had been his entire world since graduating from the police academy and his heart broke all over again. “Killian, let’s go.”

Their eyes made contact, and for a moment he could see the woman he loved in front of him. The woman he would give his life for.

“I’m glad this is over.” She said under her breath and the moment was gone.

He walked out of the room, his shoulders sagging, his chin tilted toward the ground. He felt like he had just lost the most important thing in his life.

“So now what?”

“I’ll send these papers over; they should have them first thing tomorrow morning. Once she signs them, we’ll get them to the judge and that’s it, you’ll be divorced in 60 days.”

“Great.”

Ariel reached out and touched his shoulder. “I’m sorry Killian, I know this isn’t what you wanted.”

“Thanks for doing this for me. I really do appreciate it.”

“Go home, have a drink, let this all go, and then wake up tomorrow, and each day it’s going to get easier. I promise.”

“I think I’ll just start with the drink.” He laughed. “Thanks again.”

An hour later, he sat at the bar with Robin by his side.

“To being a free man.” He offered with his glass held high.

“Aye.” Killian said softly.

“Come on, it’s not a funeral.”

“I know, I just, how did my life end up this way? A year ago, I was happier than I had been in my entire life.”

“Don’t do this to yourself, Mate.” He warned.

“We were happy, right?”

“Killian.”

“I pressured her too hard on the kid issue. I should have just let it go. I knew she wasn’t keen on kids before we started dating, being cops and everything. And then that damn bank thing happened and...”

“Jones, this isn’t helping anything.”

“I’ve never loved anyone the way I loved her.” He drained the glass in front of him of the liquid it held, slamming it onto the table. “I’ll never love anyone that way again.”

“I think you’ve had enough.” Robin announced with a sad frown. “Let me take you home.”

“I’m good.” He said, trying to stand from his stool. He tripped against the table. “Ok, perhaps you have a point.”

“I do, besides, Dave told me to ensure you didn’t get in any trouble tonight.”

“So, you are here on babysitting duty?”

“Killian, I’m here for you. You’re my partner and my friend. And Dave is worried about you as a friend, not as your Captain.”

“I just want to go home and go to bed and forget this day ever happened.”

“I’ll take you there.”

Killian stumbled up the stairs, he was thankful that he had a few days off, his head was screaming at him, his stomach lurched. Biting back bile, he was unsure if it were from the excess amount of drink he had consumed this evening or the dreadful feeling he had standing in front of their apartment door, knowing that he would have to enter it alone.

He jiggled the key in the door, hearing the familiar squeak as it pushed open across the floor. He was met immediately by Rogers, his stubby feet pressing into his leg, a wet nose nudging his hand, forcing his face into his palm.

“Ok buddy, I missed you too.” He tossed his keys onto the counter, bending down to offer the dark pup a pat on the head. “At least you won’t leave me, will you, Rog?”

The dog howled, his tongue lapping at his cheek. He sat on the floor, the dog sprawling in his lap and looked around the apartment. The boxes that had been stacked against the wall had dwindled from what he had left there this morning. “Did you see mommy tonight?” He sang to the dog in his lap. Rogers barked, jumping up and running through the house, something he did often when he mentioned her to the anxious pup.

“Let’s get you fed, boy.” He stood up from the floor, the dog padding faithfully behind him.

He wandered through the house, taking care of the nightly things he always did, feed the dog, water the plants, and pick up all the toys that Rogers had littered through the house throughout the day. When he got to the kitchen he saw the dishes drying next to the sink. It shouldn’t have been something that brought him to his knees, and yet it did.

Even in the early stages of their career when they were just partners on the beat who shared an apartment, before the moment he had confessed his feelings to her, the night that everything between them changed, doing the dishes had been something she did anytime they argued.

He had always said that doing the dishes was a mundane task that he hated doing, so the night she found a dish in the garbage because he couldn’t get it clean, she simply laughed and told him that he would never survive without her. 

After that anytime they would fight, he would find her furiously scrubbing the dishes in the sink. And whether it was for her benefit or his, it was a reminder, that he couldn’t live without her.

Even when they were going through the worst of times, hours spent screaming, dishes being tossed, he’d find her later that evening in the kitchen, her hands soapy, black mascara staining her cheeks, as he made love to her against the sink.

He sat on the floor of the kitchen, the howl of his grief straining his throat, staring at the clean dishes next to the sink, knowing he would never survive without her.

Rogers nuzzled into his chest, his dark eyes staring up at him as he settled into his arms. “It’s just you and me now, buddy.” He said sadly. “Let’s go to bed.”

He stood up, wandering through the apartment, turning off the lights to the rooms he had entered until he reached his bedroom door. He exhaled and pushed open the door, inhaling the scent of her. He knew it wouldn’t be long before the scent would be gone. The last trace he had of her. He tentatively stepped into the room, clicking on the small lamp on his bedside table, yanking the shirt over his head and unbuttoning his jeans.

Rogers hopped up, settling into his spot in the middle of the bed. He raked his hand through his hair, breathing out slowly to calm his nerves. One day at a time. That’s all he could do.

Ridding himself of his jeans, he sat down on the bed, tugging the comforter down when he noticed the envelope on his pillow. The scratchy letters scrawled across the front written in her hand, his name displayed across it.

With shaky hands he reached for it, running his fingers across the front. He pulled the page from inside the envelope, unfolding it and holding it toward the light.

_My key is on the counter, so the house is all yours._

_I left some treats for Rogers in the cabinet, don’t give him all of them at once, you know it upsets his stomach._

_I really am truly sorry that things have ended this way, but I can’t give you what you want. You deserve so much more than broken dishes and angry voices. You mean too much to me that I couldn’t stay and watch what we were becoming._

_I’m going away for a bit, I borrowed the car, I hope you don’t mind since technically you gave it to me. I just need to think and figure out what my next move is, I’ll come for the rest of my stuff when I get back._

_You will always have my heart._

_Present day_

“That’s not what she said.” Belle quipped as she sat perched on top of the intersection of Killian and Robin’s desks.

“How would you know!” Will argued with his partner, as Robin sat with his feet up on the other side of the desk, amused by the argument ensuing in front of them.

“Seriously Will, how many women do you see in this precinct? Trust me, we stick together, women talk.”

“Bloody hell. I don’t need my sex life broadcast all over the station.” He complained.

“Then stop sleeping with everyone here.” Belle stated in a dry tone that earned an egregious look from her partner.

“She has you there, buddy.” Robin agreed.

Killian chuckled to himself, reading the file in front of him of their next case. A murder in Seattle. Nothing they hadn’t dealt with before. It appeared to be an open and shut case, the wife was found with a gun in her hand when the police arrived. The husband had been cheating on her with the woman’s best friend. He was sure he and Robin would be able to clear the scene and solve the case in an hour with an arrest.

He preferred the open and shut cases, the cases that resolved themselves, even if there wasn’t a clear motive or understanding of the crime, as long as they had the suspect, he was satisfied. In the eleven years of working with Robin, they had been able to close all their cases, except one.

Neal Cassidy.

Killian had been chasing that case even before he became a detective. The man still alluded him, it was the only case that kept him up at night. Every month he spent at least one weekend, combing through the case files, checking for leads he may have missed.

Neal Cassidy started out robbing banks, he went after the money and ran. He left no clues, no trace, no evidence at all, and he never took more than what he could get out with safely. He was a beat cop when Neal escalated to the next level, wrong place, wrong time he supposed. He and his partner happened to be the closest to a robbery in process, they took the call and arrived on scene with enough time to close off the exits, trapping the man inside.

Everything was textbook, they called it in, he guarded the front, his partner had the back door. They waited for backup. And then everything went to hell. Neal ran. Killian knew he shouldn’t enter the building, they were told to stay outside, but he heard the gun shot, saw the commotion, and instinct kicked in. He entered just as he killed the security guard, shooting in the man’s direction before he could kill any of the hostages, it scared Neal off, but not before he disappeared toward the back with one of the hostages. He gave chase, radioed his partner that he was coming her way, and tried to follow. Turning the corner, he was faced with a man with a gun, throwing himself behind an object he shot toward the man, taking him down to the ground with a single kill shot.

The rest was a blur, he remembered feeling pain in the back of his head, seeing a man, dragging a woman behind him, and then nothing. When he came to, he scrambled to the back door, his partner was lying on the ground, hovered over a woman, blood all over the ground. His partner had been shot, her shoulder was bleeding, but the woman on the ground was dead. A shot to the head. An even bigger shock when he realized he knew her.

Neal was gone.

After that day, Killian became obsessed with Neal Cassidy, it pushed him to finally take the detective’s exam, and he followed every bank robbery on the radio he heard. Neal continued his spree, four banks in three months, five dead. The man was being careless, more aggressive, and yet they couldn’t catch him. Still couldn’t prove his identity, but Killian knew it was him. And then suddenly, he was gone. Without a trace.

Robin told him the man was probably dead. But Killian knew he was out there, perhaps he left Seattle, laid low until the heat died down. But as each year passed, there was nothing. No leads, no robberies that matched his M.O., no Neal Cassidy.

“I’m just saying, you shouldn’t date someone you work with. It always ends badly.” Killian looked up at Belle who was now staring at him apologetically, realizing what she had said to her partner. “I’m sorry, K. I shouldn’t have sad that.”

“It’s fine. You’re right.” He shrugged.

“Jones, Locksley, my office, right now.” Killian looked up to see Captain Nolan standing in his doorway, a disgruntled look on his face.

“What did you do now?” Robin accused.

“Nothing, I swear.” He smirked.

They entered the office; David was staring out the window toward the city below him. “Shut the door.”

“I swear I didn’t do it.” Killian joked.

“It’s Cassidy.” Dave spoke and all the color drained from his face.

“What?” Robin stared with his mouth open.

“Bank Robbery on Main this morning. We didn’t get a clear shot of him again, but it’s him. It’s his M.O.”

“Did they catch him?” Killian heard himself say.

“What do you think? No. But we have three dead.”

“Jesus.” Robin exhaled.

“One of the dead is Officer Perry.”

“The Lieutenant’s kid? Shit.” 

David turned toward them. “He had an accomplice. A woman. She’s in lock up at county.”

“Let’s go down there.” Killian turned to leave when he heard Dave cough.

“There’s more.” He said, sitting down at his desk with a thud. “The woman is refusing to talk to anyone but you.”

“Me?” Killian said with confusion. “Me specifically, or a detective?”

“Killian, it’s Emma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys buckle up. I plan to post every Thursday. I will also post a sneak peek on Tuesdays of the next chapter on Tumblr @wefoundloveunderthelight. Hope you enjoy.


	2. Who the Hell are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma bit down on her cheek, anything to maintain her icy stare with the man who was currently seeing red, staring at a cop killer in his metal box. “I’ll talk.” She said quietly.
> 
> “It’s about fucking time.” He growled.
> 
> “But not to you.” She glared. “I’m only gonna talk to Detective Killian Jones.”

**Chapter 2: Who the Hell Are You?**

_Present Day_

“Ma’am, you’re in a lot of trouble, it would go better for you if you would just tell us your name.”

“Go to hell.” She exclaimed, slumping her shoulders over the metal table she was currently handcuffed to.

“We’re going to find out anyway. Just tell us, who the hell are you?” The officer threatened.

“I don’t doubt that you will.” She said with a shrug. In fact, if Emma was being honest, she expected them to already know who she was. Though her appearance had changed often throughout the years, she knew she looked older, less kept together than she had when she was last in this building.

She never thought she would be here again. Honestly, she didn’t expect to be alive this long.

The door swung open and a man charged in the room, obviously he was playing the bad cop in this rag tag team of idiots in front of her. She pursed her lips together and stared at the man.

“If I had two minutes alone with you, sister.” He said under his breath and the other man sat up in his chair.

“Leroy, remember the cameras.” His partner warned, staring up at the camera’s recording them in the corner of the room.

“I don’t give two shits about what they hear. Officer Perry was a good kid.” He growled and Emma flinched. The look of the young cop’s face as he hit the pavement haunted her. She closed her eyes, seeing the blood flowing from his chest. She knew he couldn’t have survived the shot. She had hesitated after the bullet hit him; it was the only reason they caught her. She froze, seeing the young kid’s body on the ground, the shield on his chest. A cop was dead because of her.

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t shoot you right here.” The man yelled into her face. Her heart was racing, she struggled to keep the tears from springing behind her eyes. She needed to stay calm. So much was on the line for her right now. She needed to get back to the house. Needed to find him.

The man slammed his hand down on the table. “You’ve got two seconds to start talking, lady.”

Emma bit down on her cheek, anything to maintain her icy stare with the man who was currently seeing red, staring at a cop killer in his metal box. “I’ll talk.” She said quietly.

“It’s about fucking time.” He growled.

“But not to you.” She glared. “I’m only gonna talk to Detective Killian Jones.”

_Ten Years ago_

“Emma are you sure you want to give up the apartment, it’s in your name, not his. Technically even though you were both married, he never had made a claim to it.”

She looked up at her attorney and shook her head. “I don’t want the place, too many memories. He can have it.”

“You’re walking away with hardly anything in this divorce, you’re a hard-working female cop, I could get you a lot more than what you’re asking for.”

She sighed, “The only thing I really need is a car, but he’s never going to agree to give it to me. I would like to have Rogers though.”

“The dog?”

“It would be nice to have a companion, I picked him out at the pound. He’s a good dog.”

“Then we’ll ask for the dog. You don’t have to sign anything today. We can negotiate with him.”

Emma sat silently in the car, dreading seeing Killian’s face. So much had gone wrong in the last few months. They had been fighting every day, locked in a battle to see who could get under the other’s skin first. What they had become was not who they were. It killed her to see the pain in his eyes every time they talked about his brother’s children back in Ireland. She knew Killian wanted children, and she knew he would be a great father.

Everything had changed for them three months before they got married. They were a good team, Killian and Emma had graduated from police academy at the same time, they were immediately paired as partners, and worked well together. She knew that he would always have her back.

But on that day, they were finishing their patrol after a long night shift when they got a call about a bank robbery in process. They could read each other’s mind, Killian taking point at the front and Emma knowing to go around back. It was routine for them to be in this situation.

And then all hell broke loose, a man came out the back door with a gun to a woman’s head. Emma froze when she realized it was Killian’s sister-in-law who was standing in front of her. She knew Killian would come, he always came and saved the day. Except for this day.

She locked eyes with the suspect, cold dread coming over her as he pressed the gun to the woman’s head, shouting at her to get out of his way. She lowered her gun, trying to convince the man to hand over the hostage. He lunged toward her, pushing the woman into the way, and drawing his weapon, he fired four shots, the first one threw her to the ground, the second missed, but the next two met their target as the woman fell in front of her, a blank stare as soon as she hit the ground.

Killian found her a minute later, shock starting to set in, she had been hit, Killian was injured, and his sister-in-law was dead.

It’s not that she thought she was untouchable, but that day she realized how much danger they both were in. So, when the discussion of children came up after they were married, she knew she couldn’t bring a child into their life. Not when he couldn’t promise her that they would both always come home safely.

At first she thought he understood, but after burying his wife, his brother moved back to Ireland taking Killian’s niece and nephew with him and the last piece of family he had left, something changed between them.

Resentment was a dish they served with breakfast every morning, followed by anger for lunch, by the time dinner rolled around, the looks and barbs had become personal and biting. He deserved to have a wife who would give him the piece that was missing. Someone who would allow him to be the father he so longed to be.

Seeing him sitting across from her in the small room in the courthouse, she did everything she could not to meet his eyes. She couldn’t face him knowing that this was the day she would no longer be Mrs. Jones. Killian was the only family she had ever known. Walking down the aisle on their wedding day, finally having a name she would cherish as hers, was the happiest day of her life.

It was fitting that she would lose the last piece of her identity in this cold dark room. Perhaps she would always be just a poor little orphan girl without a name.

She stared at her hands as he spoke to her. She knew he would get upset, her asking for the dog. Part of her wanted Rogers because she loved him and wanted a companion, but the other half of her knew that the dog was the one thing Killian loved as much as her and she was just trying to steal something away in anger.

“She’s not the one who takes him out at 3am every bloody night. She doesn’t care about the damn dog.”

“I love that dog. I picked him in case you don’t remember.” The day she saw him at the pound was one of the happier moments during their marriage. He had been looking at the large dogs at the back of the pound, he felt that a family of police officers should have a German shepherd. But the moment the small runt of a pup peered at her between the bars, she knew he was the pet they needed. His sad puppy dog eyes were all Killian needed to agree, and the dog had him wrapped around his fingers from that moment on.

“You can’t have him. I’ll give you the car. Just let me have Rogers.” Her head shot up and their eyes met for a second. She hadn’t expected him to give up the car. He needed it to get to work and back. She was already walking away with nothing, no apartment, no dog, no husband. At least with a car, she could get out of town and figure things out.

“Fine.” She addressed her attorney and cowered back down into her internal prison. It was going to be over soon. All she had to do was sign the papers in the morning and it was done. She would get one more evening of being Mrs. Jones. She hadn’t even registered that Killian and his attorney were leaving the room until she looked up and their eyes locked. All she had to do was tell him she loved him. That she still needed him. But they had already gotten so far past that. Instead, she watched him leave, knowing it was over.

“Well, you got the car.” Her attorney said with a smile, “So I would say that went well.”

She nodded haphazardly. “Yeah.”

“Cheer up, it’s almost over. I’ll send you over the papers in the morning to sign.”

“Um yeah, ok thanks.” She stood and headed out of the room, she had borrowed her partner’s car and drove back to the station to return it. She went back to the locker room, gathering her gun and badge and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Slamming her locker shut, she walked toward the Captain’s office. David had become a dear friend of hers, even walking her down the aisle on her wedding day, he had become a father figure to her in all the years they had known each other. He had been generous when he found out that she and Killian were dating, allowing them to continue to be partners until after they were married. When Killian passed his detective’s exam, he pulled the strings to keep them at the same precinct.

“Cap, you busy?” She peered into his office.

“Not for you, Officer Jones.” His genuine smile was something she always looked forward to seeing. “How are you, Emma?”

She sat down and frowned, “Things went well today.” She stated simply, not wanting to get into the details. “But that’s not why I’m here.” She swallowed, her mouth dry, and pulled out her badge and gun and set them softly on the desk in front of her.

“Emma.”

“Look I’ve thought a lot about this, and I can’t do this anymore.” She wasn’t going to cry. “This year has been a lot to handle, and now with the divorce, I just can’t.”

“Emma, I can have one of you transferred to another precinct, you won’t have to work in the same building.”

“I know, I appreciate that, but honestly, I just don’t know what I want anymore. I don’t know who I am. I came into this world with no family, no name, and then I met all of you, and Killian, and…” She tried to control her breathing. “I just need to get away, figure out who I am.”

He looked at her belongings on his desk, “This is waiting for you when you get back.” He said with a nod. “You know we’re all here when you’re ready.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, standing from the desk, and turning to leave. When he took her hand and pulled her into a hug, she finally let the tears overwhelm her.

Once she left the precinct building, she knew she needed to head to their apartment. She was sure that Killian wouldn’t be home right away. He spent most of his time at the bar after work, anything to not have to come home and fight with her.

She climbed the stairs to their apartment, pushing her key into the lock and finally exhaling a breath when the apartment was dark. Rogers came running, pushing his face against her legs the moment she sat the key down on the counter. “Hey there, been a few days huh?” she dropped the bag on the counter, digging out the treats she had brought for the dog. “Don’t let dad give you too many of these buddy, you know you can’t handle it.”

She looked around the apartment, it was in disarray. Killian was always a neat husband, he didn’t like too many things to be out of place, so the state of the apartment left her with concern. She knew he wasn’t handling things well. “You’re gonna have to keep an eye on him, ok?” She looked toward the black dog who was sitting in the corner, still munching on his treat.

She gathered a few of her things, some of the boxes that she knew she needed right away and left the rest. She could get them later. The keys to the car were sitting on the coffee table. He must have taken a cab earlier. She pocketed the keys, she just needed to get out of town. Take her boxes to storage until she found somewhere permanent to stay.

She saw the pile of dishes and laughed. “He really won’t survive without me.” She remarked, looking over at the dog who was now napping on his bed. “You’re gonna have to learn how to do the dishes bud.”

She washed each dish, even the ones that had the small cracks in them from the night she got angry and tossed it against the wall. When it bounced and didn’t break, they both started laughing until they ended up making love right there on the kitchen floor. That was her and Killian. One moment they were at each other’s throats and the next they couldn’t get enough of each other.

When the tears started to fall, Rogers nuzzled against her feet, she slid down the counter, hugging the dog as if he were the last thread she had left of her sanity. She needed to get out of the house. She couldn’t be here with the ghost of his memory in every dish, every corner of the room, and each sound.

She pushed open the door to the bedroom, wiping at her eyes. She found her notepad she kept in her bedside table and sat on the bed, scribbling down the only words she knew to say. Leaving the letter on his pillow, she took one last look around, stopping at the closet to find the one thing she needed to have. Yanking it off the hanger, her fingers traced the worn leather. She remembered the first time she laid eyes on him. It was the first day of police academy, and he walked into the room, leather jacket and that damn face and the moment their eyes met, she fell in love with him. She pulled the black leather jacket over her arms, enveloping her body with his smell.

She left the key on the counter, kissed the dog one final time, and pulled the door shut behind her. One day she would find a way to be alright.

She carried her boxes to the car, putting them in the trunk and then got into the vehicle. She had booked a cabin in Vancouver for the next month. Somewhere she could go to get her mind straight, away from Killian.

She had the key in the ignition, the car was still illuminated by the small overhead light, when she saw something move in the seat behind her. She didn’t have a chance to turn, but she felt the gun pressed to the back of her head.

“We meet again, Officer.”

_Present day_

She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there handcuffed to that cold metal table. No one had come in to see her for a long time though. She was sure that meant they had probably figured out who she was by now. The moment she asked for Killian, Captain Nolan would have gotten involved. She knew that Killian still worked for him, she had checked him out when she had gotten the chance the moment they returned to Seattle.

Knowing her old Captain, he would have asked for mug shots before talking to Killian, which meant Killian would know what he was walking into before he got here. She stared toward the large glass mirror in the room, wondering if he was watching her from the other side of it.

She had spent so many years hoping to see his face again, but now, faced with the reality that she was about to be reunited with him, she was having second thoughts. But she was desperate, and he was the only one who could help her. No matter how angry he must be with her, Killian was a good man. He would help her; she knew he would.

The door swung open and Office Leroy walked into the room without his partner, “Says her name is Emma Swan.” He stated toward the door, turning to see no one had followed him in the room. And that’s when she saw him.

He was older than she remembered, a few strands of grey in his hair, he was still the hottest man she had ever laid eyes on. He turned toward the officer. “Gonna need the room.” He spoke and Emma felt the hairs on her neck stand on end. God she missed him.

“Ok, but we’ll be watching.” He pointed toward the cameras and shut the door behind him.

He stood at the door, looking her up and down, she was sure he was taking in the way her hair had dulled, wrinkles from worry had buried in her face. She wasn’t the same woman that left his apartment ten years ago, she knew that.

His jaw was tense, the vein popping on the side of his face the way it did when they would interrogate a perp back when they were partners. She knew this side of Killian, he was intense, getting what he needed from any suspect.

He slammed the manila folder onto the table, causing her to jolt in her seat. He sat down in the chair in front of her and met her eyes, cold and hard. “Hello, Emma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our girl is here... but not everything is what it seems. What happened to Emma?


End file.
